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Surge in Donations Fuels GOP Hope

The Jacksonville Observer reports that, “despite being in the minority in Congress, Republican campaign committees outraised Democrats by $1.7 million in August as they have aggressively collected political cash amid the rancorous debate over health care.”

“Republicans have been able to tap into some of the anger against Democrats in power and translate that into fundraising,” said Nathan Gonzales of The Rothenberg Political Report. “There are a lot of Republicans who wish the election were this November, not November 2010, because they feel like the momentum is on their side now.”

Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the committee has attracted more than 70,000 first-time donors this year as voters grew alarmed by President Obama’s policies. “There are a lot of independents who may have voted for Obama who are now saying, ‘This type of big government spending is not what we signed up for,’ ” he said.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) also had a fundraising bump in August, bringing in $1 million more than the Democratic National Committee. Only the House Democratic committee outraised the Republicans in August – by $200,000. For the year, the three GOP committees have $28.3 million in available funds after expenses and debts – about $8 million more than the Democrats.